Republicans have proposed hiking the registration fee for hybrid and electric vehicles to help pay for bridge and highway projects in Wisconsin.(Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)Buy Photo

MADISON - Wisconsin road projects could be designed and built by the same firm and their workers could be paid less, under new GOP legislation aimed at lowering the costs of highway construction.

The state faces long-term shortfalls in its roads fund, and a disagreement over how to pay for bridge and highway projects has held up the state budget.

To help address that, a group of GOP lawmakers introduced legislation this month that they said would help to close the funding gap by lowering costs.

The bill would repeal the state's "prevailing wage" law requiring certain minimum pay levels for construction workers. It would also clear the way in Wisconsin for design-build firms that both draw plans for highway projects and construct them.

“This bill will restore taxpayer confidence in an agency that has strayed from the sound fiscal and good-government principles we expect," said Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin).

The state Department of Transportation faced a critical audit in January that showed the cost of major road projects in Wisconsin doubled between the time they were planned and built. The nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau found that DOT officials didn't take into account the considerable effects that inflation and changes to project design would have on construction costs over time.

Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse have opposed the repeal of prevailing wage laws, arguing they benefit middle-income families and ensure a pipeline of skilled workers to do the work in the future.

“Outsourcing jobs and paying workers less isn’t going to fill our potholes any quicker," Shilling said in a statement. "We need a real plan that invests in infrastructure, protects Wisconsin jobs and improves the safety of our local roads.”

Under current law, the DOT and local governments generally split road projects into two phases: the design elements and construction. This work is separately awarded to contractors by the state through competitive bidding, though the state sometimes does its own design work.

The legislation would allow governments to award a single contract to a bidder that would provide architectural design, surveying, engineering and construction. Companies could also be involved in the financing of projects.

Proponents of this approach say it could save time and perhaps money on projects. Critics say it can make it harder for small companies to bid on projects since firms would have to offer a broader range of services to compete for state work.

The bill would also:

Require that voters approve a local vehicle registration fee before a city or county government could levy one on local drivers.

Establish an inspector general within the Legislative Audit Bureau to investigate waste and fraud within state transportation programs.

Direct the DOT to report to lawmakers on the progress of using the design-build model for highway projects.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he backed the prevailing wage repeal in the bill as part of a broader package to address transportation challenges in the state.

By itself, however, the bill is unlikely to solve the core transportation disagreement among Republicans that has held up work on the state budget.

Assembly Republicans want to find new money for roads by raising gasoline taxes or other fees and are opposed to borrowing more money for roads without new money to pay off the loans.

"It’s important to understand that reforms alone won’t resolve the transportation funding issue that must be addressed in order to maintain a reliable and safe highway system," Vos said in a statement.

Gov. Scott Walker and Senate Republicans are opposed to tax increases for roads and say that the state can borrow more money for highways without finding new sources of repayment.